The 8 Largest Sexual Harassment Verdicts In History

News emerged last week of the
horrifying conditions that employees of New York state
lawmaker Vito Lopez allegedly had to work under, not long after a
shocking suit was filed against the Department of Homeland
Security.

During sexual harassment suits, unsavory allegations come to
light, and in many cases companies will quickly settle to avoid
bad publicity.

But in some instances, these cases do go to trial and even reach
a verdict.

While appeals courts ultimately slashed some of the awards, in
all of these cases juries initially sent a message to corporate
defendants by handing down multi-million dollar verdicts-in some
cases to lone plaintiffs.

A legal secretary won a multi-million dollar suit against a powerful law firm.

People Magazine

Year: 1994

Jury award: $7.1 million

The allegations: In September
1994, a San Francisco jury awarded former Baker
& McKenzie legal secretary Rena Weeks
$7.1 million in punitive damages, which a judge reduced to
$3.5 million, the San Francisco Chronicle
reported.

She accused her boss, trademark attorney Martin Greenstein, of
lunging at her chest, pouring M&Ms down her breast pocket,
and grabbing at her hips. The trial gripped the Bay Area at the
time, and many legal watchers considered the verdict a landmark
victory.

A former UBS sales assistant said a supervisor made relentless sexual advances.

kshb.com

Year: 2011

Jury award: $10.6 million

The allegations: Carla C. Ingraham, who was 51
in 2011, claimed her supervisor made repeated comments about her
breast size, talked about how big his penis was, and
asked her about sexual fantasies, Bloomberg reported.

UBS fired her when she complained about the supervisor, she
claimed. UBS says it prohibits retaliation against employees who
complain of harassment, Bloomberg reported.

A former team executive for the New York Knicks says she was fired a month after complaining a famed coach harassed her.

The first female millwright at a Chrysler plant claimed she endured cruel jokes and sexually explicit cartoons.

AP Images

Year: 1999

Jury award: $21 million

The allegations: Linda Gilbert, the
first woman millwright at Chrysler's
Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit , claimed
co-workers harassed her with sexually explicit photos and cruel
names, the AP reported.

Her award was believed to be one of the largest handed to an
individual sexual harassment plaintiff. However, the Michigan
Supreme Court threw it out in 2004 after finding it was "clearly
the product of passion and prejudice."

Six women won a $30 million jury verdict from a grocery chain after they claimed they were abused and fondled.

Michal Czerwonka/Getty News

Year: 2002

Jury award: $30 million

The allegations: Six female workers claimed a
store manager at a Ralph's grocery store in Escondido, Calif.
terrorized them for an entire year, fondling them and
throwing objects at them including a 12-pack of soda and a
phone, ABC News reported.

In 2006, a state appeals court reduced the award after finding it
"constitutionally
excessive," North County Times reported at the
time.

An employee of an Aaron's rent-to-own won a huge award after claiming a general manager masturbated on her.

Ashley Alford won $95 million in a harassment caseFox News

Year: 2011

Jury award: $95 million, which was reduced to
$40 million because of a cap on federal
damages.

The allegations: Ashley Alford, who worked for
an Aaron's near St. Louis, claimed the store's general manager
assaulted her
after sexually harassing her for a year, the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch reported.

In the fall of 2006, he allegedly snuck up behind her while she
was sitting in a stock room and hit her in the head with his
penis, the Post-Dispatch reported.

A physician's assistant won perhaps the biggest-ever sexual harassment verdict for a single plaintiff.

ABC News

Year: 2012

Jury award: $168 million

The allegations: Physician's assistant Ani
Chopourian claimed doctors at Mercy General Hospital
constantly asked her for sex, ABC News reports. One allegedly
even stuck her with a needle and called her a "stupid chick."

She looked at her supervisor and said, "Do something," when she
got harassed, ABC News reported. But her supervisor would just
laugh, she said.

Pharmaceutical giant Novartis was ordered to pay $250 million over claims of rampant discrimination against female sales staff.

Year: 2010

Jury award: $250 million

The allegations: While this was technically a
discrimination case and not a harassment case, a number of
employees of Novartis Pharmaceuticals also claimed they were
harassed or demeaned.

One female sales person claimed she was
yelled at for leaving a long meeting to go to the bathroom,
while a top-performing sales person who was a new mom was told
not to apply for management jobs, the Wall Street Journal
reported.